Characteristics of patients assisted at an ambulatory of dementia from a university hospital.
OBJECTIVE
To present socio-demographic characteristics, mean scores of tests and scales applied to patients with dementia and discuss the relationship between test scores, clinical diagnoses and the severity of dementia.


METHODS
Patients (n=113) were diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria, and the diagnostic work-up included physical and neurological examination, auxiliary exams, cognitive and functional tests, and the evaluation of neuropsychiatric symptoms.


RESULTS
Mean age was 74.0 years. Alzheimer's disease (AD) was diagnosed in 62.8% of the patients, AD and vascular dementia in 8.8%, other dementias in 14.2%, and mild cognitive impairment in 2.7%. At least one neuropsychiatric symptom was diagnosed in 96.9% of the sample. There were significant differences on cognitive and functional performance between the groups classified according to dementia severity.


CONCLUSIONS
Neuropsychiatric symptoms were quite common in patients with dementia, being more frequent as severity increased, and those symptoms were associated with functional impairment in the patients.
Tascone
Lyssandra dos Santos
Ldos S
Old Age Research Group (PROTER), Institute of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. lyssandrasantos@ig.com.br
Marques
Rita de Cássia G
Rde C
Pereira
Elaine Cristina
EC
Bottino
Cássio M C
CM
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D003704:Dementia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors